Monday, May 18, 2015

Nature in all its glory

I've tried to whittle my photos down to the ones I just can't miss out but there were still far to many so I tried again and these are the ones that made the list. They are from the last few weeks and have been taken on my training runs along the lanes and across the rolling Sussex countryside.

I was taking this shot because I'd spotted the seagulls following the plough, the herd of deer was a bonus! I ran across the same field on my way back via the public footpath and I had a look at what they were eating and all I could see was stubble from the previous crop which looked as if it might have been wheat.

Another herd peeping out from behind the trees

The next few photos show a favourite flower of mine, Cow Parsley. But despite it's beauty there is an issue; it is dominating our hedgerows nowadays and forcing out other native species. Apparently I am not alone in thinking this and on checking the Countryside Survey I've found out it has increased by 53% over the last 30 years.

Why? Because of the way we manage the grass verges now. One reason is that years ago the verges would have been grazed by livestock, thus reducing the fertility of the soil but now the verges are mown by the local council and the clippings left in-situ which increases the fertility of the soil making it too rich for many of our native flowers. The other reason is the increase in the use of fertilisers by farmers which inevitably leaches into the verges. This means that the flowers which prefer an infertile soil are struggling whilst Cow Parsley, Nettles and brambles are loving it.

But it's so pretty so why does this matter? It matters because we are losing the diversity of flora and possibly fauna and our verges are turning into a monoculture. I'll climb down off my high horse now!

The wonderfully frothy flowers of Cow Parsley, Anthriscus Sylvestris, are almost obscuring this footpath

Here it is seen dominating the riverbank

It is what's known as an Umbellifera, which is its family name, and is related to carrots. I love it's other common name which is 'Queen Anne's Lace'.

Who can resist telling the time by blowing the seeds of the dandelion? I always chuckle at the French name for it; pis-en-lit (wet the bed!) which must surely have been invented to stop children from picking it?!

The flowers of Ribwort Plantain, with it's white anthers, look so pretty close-up

Running along the riverbank yesterday I spotted Equisitum Arvense, aka Mare's Tail or Horsetail. It is an invasive weed and is really hard to eradicate as it is deep-rooted with roots spreading to 7ft underground. Not something you'd want in your garden but looks pretty in the wild with drops of rain on it!

I love the look of the Horse Chestnut when it's spikey flowers are out. A native of the Balkans it was introduced into the UK in around 1600. In the US I believe it is known as the 'Buckeye'.

This beautiful orchid is one of a small colony I've been protecting on a verge near our house

I was, therefore, delighted when we cleared a large area of brambles by one of our ponds and these beauties appeared this year!

This tree looked surreal with its trunk bent over. It must have been knocked over when it was young and pliable and has just continued to grow like that.

I was fascinated by the reflection of this small bridge over the storm ditch

The new growth of these Willow trees stand out in the sunshine

The jam jar hanging from this cider apple tree in an orchard had me scratching my head for a moment until I spotted the tealight inside. It must have been left behind when the Bonfire Boyes were wassailing a few weeks ago. This kind of wassailing is quite different from the Christmas version when people go from door to door singing Carols. This is where people visit the orchards and sing to the trees to awaken them and drive off evil spirits by clattering pot and pans.

What's that Susie? It's an experiment! I found this pretty mitten at the side of the lane back in November 2014. It seemed a shame that it should lie in the gutter covered in mud so I put it on this branch in the hope that if it's owner came looking for it or if they passed by they might spot it and they would be reunited.

See, it's a pretty motif

As no-one seems to have claimed it I am using it as an experiment in decay. It seems to be made of a cotton mix so it will be interesting to see how long it takes to rot down or become inhabited by insects or whatever. There is already some rather vivid green algae growing happily in the dampness. It amuses me anyway!

I could hardly make a post without the additon of our wonderful native bluebells and Wild Garlic so here they are:

I wish you could smell their scent, it's intoxicating

I love the smell of Wild Garlic too although it's too strong for some tastes

This splash of yellow from Broom shone out in the verdant hedgerow

A few snippets from home

I have more than enough to share in another post but I'll just show a few bits for now.

Strawberry flowers hiding in the herb beds

The beginnings of the strawberry fruit. Isn't that pretty with the calyx like a ruff around the emerging fruit

This large dog fox has been a frequent visitor to the garden recently

This hen pheasant is unusually tame and will take grain from my hand. When she first arrived her right eye was very red but it's better now. It's usually the cock pheasants who will come so close and it's been fascinating to see the patterns and colours of her feathers close-up.

Here she is, standing on one leg with her feathers all puffed up against the wind. More about the wind next time as it's wreaked havoc in the garden recently.

Tilly has found her inner lion and is much braver now although I don't think she'll ever wander too far from home (unlike our previous cats who wandered far and wide).

We have had so many different visitors to the birdbath outside the kitchen window, goldfinches, magpies, wood pigeons, sparrows, dunnocks, pied wagtails, robins, starlings to name a few, but this pair of collared doves win the prize for cuteness. They must have a nest nearby as I've seen them chasing away the magpies (who would steal their eggs if allowed near the nest).

Oh no, not the compost heap again! Yes, but don't worry, I just wanted to show the potatoes that have sprouted right at the back. There must have been some small bits left and they've sent up shoots so I'll leave them there and see what develops.

Whilst I was admiring the compost heap something flashed across my peripheral vision. On closer inspection I found this grass snake hiding in an old rotting stump. I must have disturbed his sun-bathing!

As I sat on the swing the other evening I spotted this rabbit hopping alongside the pond.

He headed straight towards me……….

……….and stopped for a quick wash less than 6' from where I was sitting!

Some marvellous molehills keep appearing in 2 of our fields at the moment. The ones in the middle of the photo made me chuckle as they follow the path of an animal track. Now any gardener knows that the soil thrown out to form a molehill is fabulous as it's broken into a fine crumb by the mole's digging. You can use it as the base for a potting compost or, as I did, as a soil conditioner to break down the heavy clay we have in our garden. You can't really get the scale of them from the photo but some of them are about 10" high and 2' across and we managed to get 4 wheelbarrows worth of beautiful crumbly soil from them.

Crochet blanket update

I've very nearly finished the Sophie blanket with just the border to make. I'll be sad when its over as it's been a most enjoyable journey. Not much to show from last time but here's where it was at a few days ago:

Experimenting with colours for the next round.

Thankfully I remembered that this yarn bleeds like mad and so I soaked the skein in cold water then added salt and vinegar to act as mordants to hopefully set the dye. I have had problems of bleed with several Rowan yarns in the past so I'm always cautious, especially with reds.

Which pink to use next? The one on the right won and is now complete so just the final few rows of the border to do. Watch this space.

About Me

I enjoy many crafts including knitting and crochet but I also love running which I use to raise money for Alzheimer's Research UK in memory of my mum (please read her story below to see why it is so important to me). So far I've raised over £50,000 towards research into this devastating disease.
I ran my first marathon in 2004 at the age of 48. In 2007 I celebrated my 50th birthday by running a series of 5 marathons and 2 ultras. I wanted to do something special at the London marathon to get publicity for ARUK - a friend remarked that I should "act my age and stay at home with my knitting!" So I took my knitting with me to became the first person to knit whilst running a marathon and set the Guinness World Record for "The longest Scarf Knitted Whilst Running a Marathon"! I was also the first person to crochet whilst running a marathon. I have now run 120 marathons (4 whilst knitting, 2 whilst crocheting to set the GWR for "Longest crochet chain whilst running a marathon"). I achieved my 100th marathon 7 months before my 60th birthday in 2017 and also completed 52 marathons in 52 weeks in the process.

Mum's Story

In 1997 my mother, then aged 81, had a series of minor strokes. Shortly after that we started to notice behavioural changes notably memory loss and confusion over everyday items. We thought it was just old age finally catching up with her. Then she started wandering and had violent mood swings. Although she already lived with us it became obvious that she couldn't be left alone for long and so I left my job to care for her. The next few years saw a gradual decline into the blackness that is 'vascular dementia'. My normally placid mum became violent and aggressive. She had psychotic incidents where she would see imaginary people (children hiding in her wardrobe, Russians sitting on the stairs, women stealing her clothes) and she would shout at them and sometimes throw things too. She was so convincing that we used to go and check that there wasn't anyone there! When my sister died mum did not know who Judy was or that she was her daughter. There came a point when I suddenly realised she no longer knew that I was her daughter and this was a terrible time for me. In the last 2 years that she lived with us, life for us all became almost unbearable as she needed 24 hour care - she couldn't be left alone at all because she would either wander off or hurt herself, she never slept for more than 30 minutes at a time during the night, she became incontinent and incapable of doing anything for herself. Finally my husband and I realised that we could no longer provide her with the care that she needed and she went to live in a special care home where the team did a splendid job caring for her in the last few months of her life. There she lived a zombified existence unaware of who she was, what she was or where she was. It was heartbreaking. She died in March 2005, the day after her 89th birthday.